INDIAN NAVY - MEETING THE CHALLENGES TO MARITIME SECURITY Lt. Cdr. Jasneet Singh Sachdeva, Commanding Officer, INS Nipat

INDIAN NAVY - MEETING THE CHALLENGES TO MARITIME SECURITY

Lt. Cdr. Jasneet Singh Sachdeva, Commanding Officer, INS Nipat 

  Innumerable recounts from history elucidate that nations which overlook their maritime affairs, do so at their own peril. In our case too, the lessons of ignoring the ability to control the seas were embedded in the colonisation of our country for three centuries. The strength that a nation derives from its seas is fathomless. This fact has never lost significance for centuries and holds true even till date. The prosperity of a nation is linked to its maritime security - this fact is as clear as a stag's horn. Now, at a verge of economic upsurgence, India's maritime frontiers stand a good chance of being challenged by those who do not wish to see our nation attain its vantage point of respect and nondependency. The scourge of piracy and terrorism, 'on' and 'through' the seas is nothing new to begin with. But, the ventures of armed pirates have come to symbolize a huge asymmetric threat, more-so in the recent past. Similarly, the 26/11 terror strike in Mumbai proved beyond doubt that the seas are menacingly being used by terrorist organisations to further the political vendetta of their supporting states. In short, terrorism and piracy are increasingly getting intertwined; and their emerging alliance is a potent threat to maritime security.
    Traditionally, the Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Police and other state agencies have had their respective domain of operations and a set of defined 'functional areas' wherein they exercise a certain specific authority to carry out their assigned tasks. However, with the advent of 'strategic terrorism' / 'asymmetric warfare' / 'acts of buccaneering or piracy', the functional lines between these arms of the government have started to blur. Therefore, the reactions in response to such threats are also being altered to deal with this new reality.
    So what does the Navy do? The navy ensures that no hostile maritime power degrades own national security and interests. In addition, being responsible for Maritime Security, the navy addresses the security challenges which either 'reside in' or are able to 'be routed through' the maritime environment. Beside these, the navy also performs diplomatic and benign operations as its primary roles.
UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM
    Towards maritime security, the navy is responsible for ensuring that our Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs), i.e the preferred sea-route of merchant traffic, remain open and safe for transit both in peace and war. India, by its sheer geographical presence, sits at the junction of a few of the most important 'International Shipping Lanes' (ISLs) of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). On an average, about 1.25 lakh vessels transit through these lanes annually, carrying around 1.5 billion tonnes of cargo worth over US $ 1500 billion. About 90 percent (by Volume) and 75 percent (by Value) of Indian trade also moves by the same sea-route. The area of Arabian Sea is four million sq km approx and that of the IOR is 68.5 million sq km. The length of Indian Coastline is around 7516 km, but the territorial waters of India extend 12 nm seaward of this coastline, thereby increasing the length of coastline actually to be protected, to a figure much beyond that mentioned above. Add to this, our island territories of Lakshadweep (32) and Andaman & Nicobar (572), plus our offshore assets of Oil/ Gas platforms both on the Western/ Eastern seaboard and some further beyond. There being no physical barriers at sea, these areas and assets are inherently vulnerable to sea-borne threats, and therefore, ensuring their security is a prime objective of the Indian Navy. Despite the technological advancements of recent times, maintaining and operating such figures is not a viable option even for the most developed of the nations.
COMPLEXITIES OF THE MARITIME
PUZZLE
    Indian economy too, like many other Asian nations, is heavily dependent on maritime transportation. Maintaining an uniterrupted flow of energy through shipping lanes is critical to the survival and prosperity of a developing economy, like ours. However, insecurities to these shipping lanes do exist. Some of these overlapping maritime jurisdictional claims with different interpretation of laws; and threats such as pollution, piracy and drug-trafficking. Also, now there are more foreign flagged vessels, unlike 1950-60’s. Hence, the navy protect Indian crew on a foreign adversary or a foreign crew on India? Situations which pose such dilemmas are aplenty to be found at sea. The nature of global seaborne trade, as a truly internationalised activity, has evolved into a new source of security threat. Today, the ship manned by a multinational crew may be carrying cargo destined for a dozen countries and a variety of markets.
    This 'globalisation' of seaborne trade raises some complex issues relating to security, efficiency of trade and legal responsibilities. Every time a container is touched or moved for security reasons, the cost of shipping and delivery spiral upwards. Even the potential threat of vessels being used to aid terrorism cannot be ruled out.
HOW NAVY DOES WHAT IT DOES?
    Cognizant of its responsibility for maritime security, the Indian Navy, together with Coast Guard is persistently engaged in maintaining and operating its fleet of ships and aircraft to optimally meet these challenges. Towards maintaining secure maritime frontiers, the navy, firstly, 'Domain Awareness' of our area of maritime responsibility by surveillance and maintains 'intelligence efforts using our ships, submarines, aircraft and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Secondly, security of maritime assets and critical infrastructure including offshore platforms is ensured by maintaining a patrol around these areas. Lastly, suitable action is taken to enforce law to prevent imminent threat and apprehend perpetrators. All these threats to safety and stability are common to most nations of the IOR.
    Towards enhancing regional
    collaboration, the Indian Navy has
    pioneered the 'Indian Ocean Naval Symposium' (IONS) wherein Heads of Ocean Region get together to help reconcile respective national interests with the 'global good'. Considering the vastness of our area and the tectonic shift in challenges to maritime security, off-late a need has been felt to enhance the 'Maritime Enforcement Capacity and Capability'. Towards augmenting its 'capacity', the navy is undergoing a veritable transformation to meet the extant and emerging challenges. The realm of space based technology is also being explored for enhancing surveillance capabilities to enable us neutralize the threat much before it takes course for our shores.
    To operate these sophisticated ships, aircraft and surveillance facilities, the Indian Navy lays great importance in training its manpower. Therefore, as far as training goes, the navy lays a lot of importance. In addition, for enhancing 'capability', the institutional flexibility between Navy, Coast Guard and State's Marine Police have also been introduced to cope up with the challenges of non-traditional threats being confronted.
THE WAY AHEAD
    With an ever expanding canvas of naval operations, the challenges being faced by both men and the organisation are becoming a great challenge. Therefore, the navy aims to train and conduct operations with maximum actionable intelligence and minimum number of assumptions. Moreover, our large coastal population can effectively contribute in maintaining coastal security just by being alert to the changes happening around them. This way they will be effectively contribute to national and maritime security, while the navy keeps guard at sea, tirelessly and hawk-eyed 24x7- Ever Ready, Ever Vigilant.